The first sailing ships appeared in Egypt around 3000 BC. e. This is evidenced by the murals decorating ancient Egyptian vases. The use of the sail was the first use by man of the energy of a natural element - air.
Initially, the sail played the role of an auxiliary propulsion device in favorable wind directions. But over time, sailing equipment became the main one, almost completely replacing the oars. Gradually the sails and spars became more complicated and more varied.
Sailing ships
With the beginning of the era of the dynasties of the pharaohs (3200-2240 BC), wooden shipbuilding appeared and began to develop in Egypt. Externally, the boat was a hike on a papyrus boat.
The vessel had a primitive quadrangular sail with which it could sail downwind. The armament of the vessel was completed by rowing oars, as well as one or more rudders, firmly fixed in the oarlocks at the stern.
The oldest type-setting ship of the Egyptians was found in 1952 in the southern part of the Cheops pyramid (Khufu). Its age is almost 4, 5 thousand years! The crescent-shaped hull of the vessel with a displacement of 40 tons had a length of 43.4 m and a width of 5.9 m.
The ships of the New Kingdom era were devastatingly different from their predecessors. The profile of the vessel became noticeably sharper, the bow and stern were raised even higher. The tying belt is a thing of the past, but in order to avoid buckling of the ship, shipbuilders still continued to pull the cable between the beams on the bow and stern.
Ancient Greece
It is possible that the ancient Greeks, who were the first to learn how to cover their boats with animal skin, also invented the sail - the most important, after the oar, a ship control tool.
Based on their own advances in technology, the Greeks borrowed all the best from the design of the Aegean and Phoenician ships. The ancient Greek fleet was built mainly for war at sea, and therefore it was among the Greeks that the distinctions between merchant and military ships - hardy and maneuverable - were clearly defined for the first time. The hull of the ship was painted and rubbed with grease, and below the waterline it was tarred or sheathed with lead sheets.
The first warships were relatively light ships and had a length of only 30-35 m. Depending on the number of rows of oars, at first, single-row unirems and two-tiered biremes were built. The usual light unirema had 12-15 m and had 25 rowing oars on each side. The role of a metal ram on these ships was played by a giant spear of approximately 10 meters in length.
Gradually, time has changed the appearance of warships. The main ships of most of the Mediterranean fleets were triremes (the Greeks called them triremes). Three tiers of oars gave them this name. The total number of oars on such a vessel reached 170.
The merchant ships of the Greeks (Lembians, Keletes and Kerkurs) improved faster than the military. With a length of 20-25 m, they had a carrying capacity of 800-1000 tons. On a merchant ship, two masts were often installed. The main mast carried a quadrangular sail attached to the yarn. Sand was used as ballast.
European shipbuilding
The first sailing ships of the Middle Ages appeared during the time of the Crusades. At this time, sailing naves appeared. The first naves were single-masted. Subsequently, they began to be equipped with two single-tree masts. The high foremast was installed at the very bow of the ship. The main mast was in the middle of the hull, and was longer than the keel.
There were three boats in the naves and a great many anchors - usually up to twenty. It was almost impossible to lift the anchor, which weighed over a ton. Therefore, the sailors preferred to part with the anchor that had completed its mission, without regret chopping off the anchor rope.
The crews of some naves numbered 100-150 sailors. Such ships could take on board up to a thousand passengers. The naves were variegated and colored with bright flags and pennants. In addition to all this, they were decorated with carved decorations, sculptures of mermaids and gods. The sails were colored, from scarlet to black.
Sailing ships, their types and characteristics
The types of sailing ships were varied at all times. In addition to the original design, the sailboat could undergo changes at the request of the owner, depending on the sailing conditions or local traditions. Sailing ships can take anywhere from one day to several months, but long-term sailing requires careful planning with calls to ports to replenish supplies.
There are different types of sailing ships, but they all have common basic characteristics. Every sailing vessel must have a hull, spars, rigging, and at least one sail.
Mast - a system of masts, yards, gaffes and other structures designed to accommodate sails, signal lights, observation posts, etc. The mast can be fixed (masts, topmills, bowsprit) and movable (yards, gaffs, booms).
The sail - the propulsion of a sailing vessel - is a piece of fabric, on modern sailboats - synthetic, which is attached to the mast with the help of rigging, which allows transforming the wind energy into the movement of the vessel. Sails are divided into straight and oblique. Straight sails are in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid, oblique sails are in the shape of a triangle or unequal trapezoid. The use of oblique sails allows the sailing vessel to move steeply towards the wind.
Types of masts
• Foremast. This is the very first mast, if you count from the bow of the ship.
• Mainmast. It is the second structure of this type from the bow of the ship. It is also the highest on two-three-masted ships.
• Mizzen mast. The stern mast, which on any vessel is the very last mast from the bow.
The most common classification of sailing vessels is by type and number of masts. This is where the name of the type of sailing ship comes from. So, all sailing ships can carry on their masts different types of sails in different numbers, but they all fall into the following categories:
Single-masted sailing ships
Yal is a light rakeless sailing boat (dinghy). The mast on the yala is one, often removable, and is called the foremast
Cat is a sailing vessel characterized by the presence of one mast carried far ahead, that is, near the bow of the boat
Sloop is a single-masted sea sailing vessel
Tender is a single-masted sea sailing vessel with three types of sails on the mast - staysail, trisaille and topsail
A cutter is a sailing vessel with one mast with an oblique, as a rule, gaff rigging with two staysails
Two-masted sailing ships
Yol is a two-masted vessel with a mizzen-mast located aft near the rudder head and with oblique sailing equipment
The Kech is a two-masted sailing vessel, which differs from the Yola by a slightly larger mizzen-mast. In addition, the sail area of the aft mast accounts for about 20 percent of the total sail area of the sailboat. This feature provides an advantage in handling in strong winds
Schooner (Bermuda schooner) is a sea sailing vessel with two masts with oblique sails
Brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with combined sailing equipment, which has a direct sailing rig on the foremast and oblique sails on the mainmast
Brig is a two-masted sailing vessel with direct sailing armament
Three-masted sailing ships (multi-masted sailing ships)
Caravel - has three masts with straight and oblique sails
A bark is a large sailing vessel with three or more masts, which has direct sailing rigging on all masts, except for the aft mast, which is equipped with oblique sails
Barkentina (schooner-bark) - as a rule, this is a sailing vessel with three or more masts with mixed sailing equipment, and has direct sailing only on the foremast, on the other masts there are oblique sails
A frigate is a sailing vessel with three or more masts with straight sails on all masts
Yacht
Initially, sailing yachts were fast and light ships used to carry VIPs. Subsequently, a yacht began to be called any sailing-motor, motor or just a sailing vessel intended for tourist or sports purposes.
The first yachts appeared in the eighteenth century. They were quite fast and comfortable, which is why rich people preferred this type of sea transport. Modern sailing yachts have an outboard motor that makes it easy to maneuver in port and sail at a low speed, even when it is completely calm. They are divided into cruising (there is a cabin on board), pleasure and racing.
In addition to the above types of sailing ships in the history of navigation, there were a large number of other names, many of which have disappeared over time, but thanks to enthusiasts, some ships have survived to this day in the form of fully functional copies or replicas: corvette, flutes, galleon, lugger, clipper, shebek, karakka, windjammer.
Classification of sailing ships
by the type of case:
• Wooden.
• Plastic.
• Steel.
by the number of buildings:
• One-body
• Double-hull (sailing catamarans)
• Three-hull (sailing trimarans)
depending on the use of the keel:
• Keel yachts (such vessels use a heavy keel, this can significantly reduce the vessel's drift and lower the center of gravity).
• Dinghies (on such yachts a special centerboard is installed, if necessary, it can be raised to reduce the draft of the vessel).
• Compromise yachts (they use intermediate design solutions between dinghy and keel structures).
Ancient sailing ships and their navigators deserve our admiration and respect even now, at the end of the 20th century, when both radar navigation and space sails exist. All of them are the common heritage of mankind. Old sailing ships that have survived to our time have become museums or are placed in museums.
